The Karma of number 4 is doubt, confusion, hesitation and paralysis of the heart.

The Dharma of number 4 is inner awareness, trust, conscious choice, commitment, love and service.

We take things to heart. This is not a problem, its human.

The question is not merely what can we do with all the things that we take to heart, but what to do with the state that our heart ends up in?

The heavy heart is not to be denied, avoided or repressed. It is a blessing awaiting transformation.

Hesitation can be used as an opportunity to pause for breath and to be with your inner self, which is the true source of strength.

Confusion is a chance to let go of control and trust. Paralysis is a small step away from crystallization of the diamond.

It is the truth of self that we feel each other’s pains and joys.

It is the truth of the human heart to know the other’s experience from within ourselves.

The heart even needs this to cultivate its latent potential. All these experiences are so that we can develop a big heart and a strong heart.

Commitment to Humanity is a commitment to be human. And with this commitment we turn to prayers, to the breath, to service and to poetry.

In this way we turn painful moments and memories into possibilities and opportunities. We make music out of life’s difficulties.

April is a month to take a reality check. As we have set up a program, or plan of action, and the year feels like it is in full swing,

the tendency is to continue the outward expansion.

However the soul calls you to stop and be sure you are not going it alone, and that you are not losing touch with the essence and original purpose.

When your soul stands in the core of your commitment it is going to support you to keep up.

In nature this is the inner contraction of the bud which sets the nucleus and seed of all that is to come.

Guru Ram Das laid the foundation for community consciousness (Sangat).

The soul is like a bird and will more easily migrate through the time and space when flying with other birds.

Tests will be ahead, good company, and prayers are needed. It helps reminds you to love your self and trust in God.

Dwelling in Sangat is dwelling in God; and seva is a living prayer.

Then, after the prayer, we can say ‘the rest is in the hands of the divine’.

Guru Ram Das was a lover of humanity and this is expressed in his life of service and in his poetry.

His mantra was Sat Naam, breath by breath tuning in to the inner truth and sowing seeds of the True Identity.

The Sarovar (nectar tank) of Guru Ram Das is the space of the heart where we find the We-in-Me, the shared sense of humanity.

Reflecting on Guru Ram Das and the inner chamber of the heart in the month of April awakens a universal prayer for all:

“In this terrifying world ocean of poison people are drowning, please lift them and save them.” (Guru Ram Das, SGGS p 40)